I know I know… The pre-op Optifast phase is not fun… But it is necessary!
Some people really like the Optifast shakes, soups and bars, but lots of you it seems, absolutely hate them. And I know that makes the time before you sleeve gastrectomy seem horrible. Here are a few quick and easy ways to make Optifast taste better (like a whole lot better!) and get you to that surgery in no time…
– Use ice or iced water when you mix the shakes (they taste better cold)
– Mix the vanilla shake with cold chai or fruit-infused herbal teas instead of water
– Mix the chocolate shake with cold peppermint tea instead of water
– Add a few strawberries (~50g only)
– Sweeten them with a little artificial sweetener like Equal or Splenda
– Cook your vegetables (from the list) and add them to the Optifast soup.
– Add a teaspoon of curry powder to the Optifast soup to give it a little extra flavour.
I’d love to hear any other ideas you have for making the Optifast taste better – comment below! You can also download my Pre-Op VLCD Shopping List below, too, so you know you have everything you need to get through the VLCD phase.
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12 Comments
I want to know all I can so I can be best prepared for the gs op in the 1/12/2017. I have appreciated seeing your posts.
I have many fears struggles and shame of getting to this point. But I am trying to be as ready as I can be. Thank you so much
Thanks for your message Merrin. I’m glad the post has helped. If you hit the tag “before surgery” on the right hand side of the page, you’ll find some other resources that will help as well. Best of luck!
I have been freezing my optifast into ice block moulds. 1 optifast makes 3-4 ice blocks….takes me ages to eat, feels like a treat and great it this hot weather!!
Fabulous idea Tash!
I added a teaspoon of instant coffee to the vanilla Optifast and it made it a lot more palatable.
Great idea Lynsey! Adding a shot from a Nespresso machine or similar can work wonders too. Zoe
I add some veggie bouillon, black pepper, and red chili flakes to the tomato soup. Tasty!
Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I found them over sweet and grainy, but I’ve found that by whizzing them with a hand lender with extra cold water and leaving it to sit for 10mins before whizzing again cures most of the problem.
Make the vegetable soup with half water and put with zucchini noodles, almost like a pasta dish
Add cinnamon to ANY shakes
Add tiny bit of salt frozen spinach and nutmeg to the soup
Can you use almond milk instead of water?
It’s best to check with your dietitian Susie to see what their preference is. I do let my clients add a small amount of unsweetened almond milk as well as water if desperate, but there are still some carbohydrates so it’s not ideal. I definitely wouldn’t recommend using the sweetened varieties as these are quite high in carbohydrates which is what you’re trying to minimise during the pre-op optifast stage. Zoe